Not having enough chairs, tables or flatware for your lawn party is enough to make you toss the ribs back into the freezer. You could buy all that equipment, only to have it junking up the garage or attic till the next cookout. Or you could borrow some chairs, tables and dishes from the neighbors (whom you`ll now feel obligated to invite over) for a mismatched affair.
These days, you don`t have to own so much as one lawn chair or a barbecue grill to feed, serve and entertain your guests. A visit or phone call to any of Chicago`s many rental houses can bring you all the paraphernalia you need to be a successful back yard host or hostess.
What you rent for lawn entertaining will depend on your tastes, lawn size and bank account. It pays to shop around. But as for the variety of rental items to choose from, the sky`s the limit, whether that sky be festooned with balloons that your rented helium tank has blown up, or bathed in the glowing light of rented colored lanterns.
To get you started, here`s a rundown on what`s available at the area`s biggest rental places. All the companies listed here deliver, usually on Friday, and pick up the goods, usually on Monday. Be sure to ask if they operate on a flat weekend price or a one-day fee and if someone has to be at home to accept delivery. All prices listed here are for one-day rental.
Hall`s Rental (3950 W. Devon Ave., 982-9200) is a huge rental supplier that carries the basic cooking and serving supplies you`ll need to serve anywhere from 4 to 4,000 guests on your lawn. Give Hall`s a week`s notice for a lawn gathering on an ordinary weekend and two weeks` notice for a holiday weekend. Their 6-foot and 8-foot tables rent from $5.25 to $5.75. Round ones, accommodating 2 to 12 people, rent from $5 to $6.50. Round garden tables with white Formica tops that seat six are $13 each. The cost of each table with an umbrella is $23. Chairs come in varnished wood (70 cents), metal and plastic, white with chrome frames or all white (70 cents to $1.10). White wooden garden chairs are $1.85 each.
Whether you want formal- or informal-looking dinnerware (plates, saucers, bowls), Hall`s price is 23 cents for each piece. For informal serving, they suggest a casual, all-white plate and an all-purpose mug (85 cents) that will hold a beverage or clam chowder or chili. Nonporous, rustic-looking wooden plates are 50 cents each. Three pieces of flatware are 36 cents. Wine and beverage glasses are $1.25 per person.
What about equipment to cook the food? Taylor Rental Center (7060 W. 157th St., Orland Park, 429-4425), an all-purpose party rental house, rents a five-foot barbecue grill with a rotisserie that can cook a 100-pound pig or up to 50 steaks. It rents for $40. One grill can serve up to 150 guests. For barbecues like those given on Dallas` Southfork, Taylor`s supply of grills is plentiful. Barbecue utensils, such as spatulas and tongs, are $1 each. How about a New England clambake? They`re gaining in popularity in the Midwest. A 40-quart stock pot rents for $6.50.
A 4-cubic-foot refrigerator is $11. Supercoolers, which hold up to four cases of beer or pop, are $12. Beer carts with umbrellas rent for $25. Taylor Rental suggests debugging your entertainment area. They will come out and do it for $12.
DON`T LET THE RAIN IN
Stick-in-the-muds are exactly what your guests will be if rain falls on your lawn plans. Not to panic. HDO Productions, Inc. (237 Melvin Dr., Northbrook, 564-1700), part of a national chain, will set up a tent in your yard that would make Omar Khayyam proud. Tents come in a variety of colors. A 20-by-20-foot one is $450 without sides, $550 with sides. For larger tents, the cost is an additional 70 cents a square foot. Floors cost $1.50 a square foot.
House of Rental (318 N. Milwaukee Ave., 537-2255, Wheeling; 3750 Dempster Ave., 677-2010, Skokie) is a smaller, more eclectic rental business. While the selection is not quite as varied as that of the larger rental houses, rental costs are generally less. Lawn furniture and dinnerware cost a few cents less per item than Hall`s. But the price of renting unusual items like a popcorn cart is considerably less than at other rental houses. (For example, House of Rental`s popcorn cart rents for one-third the price of A-1`s, listed below).
A cotton candy machine rents for $39, and a bubble machine for $25. Strings of light-up-the-night lighting rent for $15 for a 50-foot string that holds five lights. Floodlights are $18 for two 500-watt lights.
AAA Rent-all Systems (3323 W. 183d St., Homewood, 798-9191) is another rental supplier that will provide you with a little bit of whatever you want for your parties. Their tents are considerably less than HDO`s and their price includes sides. They do not install floors but provide you with clear instructions for doing them yourself. A 20-by-20-foot tent with sides is $200. Floors come in 3-by-3-foot oak sections, at $8 a section.
Not all rental houses stock linens, but AAA does. Tablecloths come in a variety of colors and rent for $7 each. Matching napkins are 55 cents each. If you want to rent some lawn items but purchase your dinnerware, both AAA and House of Rental sell a complete line of paper party supplies in a wide range of colors. The paper goods come in theme colors, too: House of Rental reports that ”Miami Vice” purples and the 1950s combination of pink, white and black are moving fast.
NEED A GRASS HUT?
Now for something that will give family and friends plenty to chat about besides the weather and your food: Howard Zusel, owner of A-1 Speciality (2644 N. Ashland Ave., 880-8000) carries out-of-the-ordinary props that will liven up any lawn gathering. ”There`s nobody in Chicago who rents what I rent,”
says Zusel. ”People come into my warehouse and think they`re going through fantasyland.”
A-1 is where you`ll find the huts ($200 for a 10-by-10-foot hut), palm trees ($25 each) and Tiki masks ($10 each) for that Hawaiian luau.
Authenticate an Old West party by renting A-1`s covered wagons, chuck wagons and bales of hay. To create a circus atmosphere, rent A-1`s cotton candy and four-wheel popcorn machines. Six ponies with an attendant rent for $400 for four hours, and an ice cream cart is $200. Rent a bathtub and fill it with gin, and then throw a shimmying Roaring `20s party. For $22, adorn any festivities with A-1`s basic party pack, with a rented tank of helium, 30 balloons and ribbons.
Want to run a play-money Las Vegas night on your lawn? A-1 has the blackjack and craps tables, wheels of fortune and dealers for you. They will also book a wide variety of entertainers, from puppeteers and clowns to jugglers, disc jockeys and musicians. And if A-1 doesn`t have the props you want, they can build them for you in their shop. Call as far in advance as possible. —
